Last month, at the Australian Olympic swimming trials in Brisbane, former 200m freestyle world champion Molly O’Callaghan broke her own world record. There was just one problem — her teammate and rival Ariarne Titmus was faster. O’Callaghan, who is only 20, could barely keep her composure in front of the cameras during the post-race interview. But as soon as the broadcast ended, tears were streaming down her cheeks.
There were tears in Paris on Monday night. They were just tears of joy, tears of elation, tears of relief. O’Callaghan may have lost the battle last month, but she won the war in a packed La Défense stadium. In one of the most anticipated matches of the tournament, O’Callaghan got her revenge, winning her first individual Olympic gold medal in a tense, four-lap battle with Titmus. It was the first time in 20 years that Australian swimmers had won the first and second medals at an Olympic Games, as the pair followed in the footsteps of Ian Thorpe and Grant Hackett.
The starting gun blew. O’Callaghan was a little quicker at the start. Then they raced. Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey touched first at 50m; by the second turn, Titmus had moved up to second, while O’Callaghan was back in fifth. The Australians then moved to the front. By the final turn, they were level, before O’Callaghan exploded in the last 50m. She touched third at the final turn, before finishing in an Olympic record – bettering Titmus’s time in Tokyo.
O’Callaghan lifted his head in amazement. The pair embraced in the water, then on land. The Australians held their hands up in a touching display of friendship.
“I can’t explain it, there are no words to describe it,” an emotional O’Callaghan said after the match. “I have to stay calm and composed, I’m running the 100m freestyle tomorrow. I have to stay calm and confident throughout this week. I’m swimming for the country. I’ll let it settle down at the end of the week.”
“I cried a little bit, some tears with Arne,” she admitted. “It’s great to be racing alongside my teammate and to be on the podium with her.”
Tears streamed down Titmus’s eyes, too. “These are tears of happiness,” she said after winning the silver medal. “It’s really hard to hold back your emotions in these situations. I know what it’s like to be an Olympic champion – I’m really happy for her, really happy to be standing on the podium. I had nothing to lose tonight.”
The Australian rivalry was made all the more interesting by the fact that the pair train together under the guidance of coach Dean Boxall. In the hour before the race, Boxall gave each of his athletes a plan to beat the other. But only one was able to emerge victorious.
It was a battle of speed and endurance. O’Callaghan is a two-time world champion in the 100m freestyle and is the favourite to win the two-lap race later this week. Titmus’s preferred events are the 400m and 800m. In a sign of the division, and the friendly but not close relationship between them, the pair train in different groups on the Boxall programme – Titmus part of the endurance team, O’Callaghan swimming with the runners. On Monday, O’Callaghan’s speed on the final lap was unbeatable.
Day three in the pool began with the women’s 400m individual medley, with Australia’s Ella Ramsay fighting bravely for fifth in a race won by Canadian prodigy Summer McIntosh. The 20-year-old Ramsay is following in the footsteps of her father Heath Ramsay, who swam for Australia at the 2000 Sydney Olympics; Ramsay is a rising talent in the Dolphins’ program. The medal action continued with the men’s 200m freestyle – Australia’s Max Giuliani finished seventh, with Romania’s David Popovici first.
In the women’s 100m backstroke semi-finals, Australia’s Kylie McKeon qualified second ahead of Tuesday night’s medal race. The 23-year-old is the current Olympic champion in the 100m and 200m backstroke; in Paris, she will also compete in the 200m individual medley. She is widely tipped to win three gold medals.
But in the 100m she will face stiff competition; current world record holder Regan Smith of the United States was fastest in the first semi-final, one-hundredth of a second faster than McKeon. Her Australian compatriot Iona Anderson also qualified for the final with the fourth fastest time.
On Monday night, it was a battle royal to the finish. Titmus vs. O’Callaghan. Olympic champion vs. world champion. Australian vs. Australian. Former world record holder vs. current world record holder. It did not disappoint.
